Harvard Book Store Presents:

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

presenting

What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures 

Harvard Book Store welcomes Ayana Elizabeth Johnson—marine biologist, policy expert, co-­founder of Urban Ocean Lab, and the Roux Distinguished Scholar at Bowdoin College—for a discussion of her new book What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures.

Ticketing

There are two ticket options for this event.

Book Included: Admission for one and one hardcover copy of What If We Get It Right? pre-signed by the author.

Admission Only: Admission for one.

About What If We Get It Right?

Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures.

Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create.

If you haven’t yet been able to picture a transformed and replenished world—or to see yourself, your loved ones, and your community in it—this book is for you. If you haven’t yet found your role in shaping this new world or you’re not sure how we can actually get there, this book is for you.

With grace, humor, and humanity, Johnson invites readers to ask and answer this ultimate question together: What if we get it right?

Praise for What If We Get It Right?

“In What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures, the brilliant scientist and climate expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson asks an audacious question: What if we don’t surrender to hopelessness and instead believe we can address climate change? With a thoughtfully curated series of essays, poetry, and conversations, Johnson has assembled a group of dynamic people who are willing to imagine what seems impossible, and articulate those visions with enthusiastic clarity. The problem of climate change is a significant one, but What If We Get It Right? reminds us that with passion and ingenuity, there is so much we can accomplish. We can, in fact, save ourselves.” —Roxane Gay

“An entirely credible (and entirely enchanting) voice . . . Ayana Johnson is no Pollyanna. She’s a hard-nosed and extremely competent scientist who has not shied for a minute from facing the hard truths. So if she thinks there remain ways we can use this crisis to build a better world, then rejoice, listen, and act!” —Bill McKibben

“An optimistic bent and eager embrace of solutions . . . these conversations are as much about ‘getting it right’ as they are about what we are currently getting wrong. Johnson is a top-notch interviewer, and her guests are insightful and candid . . .”—Scientific American

“Rigorous, elucidating, and hopeful in the most catalytic sense, this volume will stiffen your political will and open your mind and heart. It could arrive at no better moment.”—Rebecca Traister, bestselling author and writer for New York magazine

“I believe that this is a book that the young among us have been waiting for. It is certainly the reset that we as societies and as elders owe to coming generations of humanity—and to our magnificent natural world.”—Krista Tippett, Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, a National Humanities Medalist, and a New York Times bestselling author

Masking Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and Brooklyn native. She co-­founded and leads Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for the future of coastal cities, and is the Roux Distinguished Scholar at Bowdoin College. Dr. Johnson co-edited the bestselling climate anthology All We Can Save, co-created and co-hosted the Spotify/Gimlet podcast How to Save a Planet, and co-authored the Blue New Deal, a roadmap for including the ocean in climate policy. She serves on the board of directors for Patagonia and GreenWave, and on the advisory board of Environmental Voter Project. Above all: She is in love with climate solutions.